Changing the way we think about grades - Striving for consistency and accuracy EAGLE COUNTY - Eagle County Schools
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Changing the
way we think
about grades
Striving for consistency
and accuracy
EAGLE COUNTY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Welcome, families! Dear families of Eagle County School District, When I was a newly minted social studies teacher, I had a student that was really engaged in class. He had an authentic interest in history, excelled at his homework, aced the tests, and actively participated in class. One day after class, I stopped him and encouraged him to enroll in Advanced Placement US History. And his answer rocked me back on my heels. I’m paraphrasing, but he said something along the lines of, “Oh, Mr. Q, that kind of class isn’t for people like me.” I asked him what he meant. He said, “You know those are for the rich, white kids. Not me. I can’t go to college.” I’ll never forget that exchange. Something happened in his educational career or life that caused him to self-limit the opportunities open to him. He was closing doors before he even encountered them. In our current system, schools across the nation (including our district) continue to struggle with gaps that exist between students of color and Anglo students. These gaps go beyond academics to include discipline referrals and graduation rates. We’ve made modest gains, but getting at the true cause for these differences has been elusive. Schools must critically examine systems and beliefs in order to create environments that are more welcoming and inclusive. As educators, we know that we have to reach the hearts of our students before we can reach their minds. Over the past two years, we have critically examined our grading practices to determine if they are consistent across the district, accurately show what students know, and motivate students to learn. We had to look back and review the history of grading and then ask ourselves some tough questions. Are our practices consistent and fair? Do they motivate or demotivate? Did they contribute to my former student’s self-perception that caused him to deny himself of learning more about a subject he was clearly interested in? The answers to those questions surprised me and many of our staff members. It has resulted in our commitment to improve the accuracy and consistency of grading practices across the district. We never want to see a student close doors of opportunity because they don’t feel welcome or expected to succeed at the highest level. Philip Qualman Superintendent
Student motivation is
essential to
engagement.
The inherent excitement students have for learning is most evident in the
early elementary grades. Educators support and foster their natural
excitement to learn and curiosity of the world. This intrinsic motivation
often subsides as students mature and develop through the ages. But what
if it didn’t?
The importance of the
student-teacher connection.
We know that effective student-teacher relationships are paramount to positive classroom
environments and learning. Students demonstrate greater motivation and have higher achievement
in supportive classrooms, where they can connect to teachers as people. Students are more willing
to persevere through challenges, make mistakes, and be open to new concepts if they feel that their
teacher is there to support them.
If we hope to grade students on their proficiency of content, positive student-teacher relationships
are an integral piece of our equitable grading and assessment practices. We have to build a
relationship of trust and shared understanding to reach the hearts of students and make them feel
loved, welcomed, and respected before we can expect to inspire their minds.
What’s the history behind grading?
The modern education system was But the world has changed in a
born out of necessity during the hundred years. The biggest
Industrial Revolution. In 1860, the change is the diversity of the
United States was behind England, economy. The need for factory
France, and Germany in industrial workers has been replaced with
output. By 1900, it produced nearly the need for critical and creative
as much as the three countries problem solvers.
combined.
In other words, the most
Leaders went to town managers
with a demand: we need a smart,
basic goal for public
reliable workforce to work in our schools has changed from
factories. Compulsory public preparing workers for
education was created.
factory jobs to preparing
Not surprisingly, it was built on the students to be able to
same industrial principles applied think critically, solve
in factories. Knowledge was
broken down into parts, seat time
problems, and innovate.
was created to measure time on
task, and grades were created to Research on grading practices and
rank and sort students. extrinsic motivation shows we need
to rekindle and maintain the inherent
The next big phase centered motivation for learning throughout
on quasi-science that seemed school. And, grading practices should
to indicate that humans could be be motivational, not demotivational.
trained to do better with external
rewards.
Extrinsic motivation became
the rave. Grades started to
serve as extrinsic rewards.
We started using grades as
rewards to work habits,
timeliness, and forms of
productivity.
It’s time to update how we approach grading. With students (and their parents) stressing over grades and the idea that everything is graded, students prioritize earning points over the attainment of knowledge. If they feel they can’t earn the points, they don’t try. Failure is the first step in learning and should not be viewed as something deserving of a negative consequence. Yet the laser-like focus on grades makes struggle and risk-taking seem like a sign of weakness or low intelligence. Many students would rather not do the work than do the work and get a bad grade. In the midst of learning, mistakes and low marks are not only appropriate, but essential. It is imperative that we change the way students and parents see mistakes. This includes reframing our focus on grades – intrinsic motivation for the actual knowledge one gains should not be overshadowed by a grade. A grade is merely one sign post to offer feedback to educators, students, and parents.
What’s wrong with the grading practices
we experienced as students?
Traditional grading practices are mathematically inaccurate and skewed toward failure. The 0 to 100%
grading scale is perhaps the most commonly known and universally experienced scale in use. Yet it is
seriously flawed. Its orientation toward failure can quickly put students in a place from which there is no
chance of recovery.
Range of points Letter Grade
A, B, C, and D are each worth about 10%,
whereas an F is worth 60%. Therefore, roughly 90–100 A
60% of the scale is failing (0-59%). Meanwhile,
only 20% is allocated to success, generally 80–89 B
defined as an A or B. Grades of C and D
comprise the remaining 20%. 70–79 C
60–69 D
0–59 F
Numerous factors impact a student’s ability to complete class work outside of school, such as work, sports,
extracurricular activities, and taking care of siblings. Therefore, including homework scores in final grades
is not an effective practice to gauge a student’s academic proficiency. This practice also generally has a
greater impact on traditionally disadvantaged students. Rethinking how we grade assignments and
assessments can better motivate all of our students for academic success.
Percentage Corresponding
score letter grade
Look what happens when a student misses
Assignment #1 85% B
an assignment while otherwise earning
above average scores. The student quickly Assignment #2 85% B
gets into a hole from which they can’t recover.
Assignment #3 0% (missing) F
Overall Grade 85 + 85 + 0 = 170 F
170 / 3 = 57%
Percentage Corresponding
score letter grade
Even when twice the number of assignments
Assignment #1 85% B
at an above average score are factored in,
the total grade only climbs from an F to a D. Assignment #2 85% B
It’s little wonder that many students in this
situation throw in the towel. Because the scale Assignment #3 0% (missing) F
is oriented toward failure, they can’t improve
their grade in a manner that reflects their true Assignment #4 85% B
knowledge.
Assignment #5 85% B
Overall Grade 85 + 85 + 0 + 85 + 85 = 340 D
340 / 5 = 68%
To compensate, schools started grading
practically everything.
The thought was that more grades Additionally, consider that grades are
would provide more input to average an abstract representation of real
out bad grades. Now, practically knowledge. We can’t assign knowledge
everything a student does in school is “points” in a way that captures every
graded. Unfortunately, including more aspect of understanding. We cannot
data doesn’t fix a flawed system. really know the difference in knowledge
between a student who scores 85
As the charts on the previous page compared to one who scores 81.
showed, an inordinate amount of Those four points cannot accurately
inputs would be needed to conclude and define a student’s
overcome one or two bad grades knowledge.
when the scale is not balanced.
More inputs to improve grading
averages may have gotten us
here, but they haven’t improved the
accuracy of grades.
What about grading for
behavior and soft skills?
Many ideas collided over time to foster the practices of grading for soft skills, as
they are also an important part of learning. Soft skills and behaviors such as
timeliness, punctuality, compliance, and efficiency were prized and essential for
preparing young people for an eventual job in a factory.
Of course, soft skills are still essential and continue to be part of the learning
experience. The change we need to make is to separate the grading of soft
skills and knowledge so that we are using grades as an indicator of knowledge
attainment.
Can such a change improve intrinsic motivation for learning?
What research shows about extrinsic
and intrinsic motivation.
Remember the children racing to of the smart kids than to reconcile
get to school? They couldn’t wait to that you may learn differently or at a
see their teachers and friends and different pace than your peers.
learn something new. Not because of
grades, but because it’s human It may be better to withdraw and not
nature to learn. It’s intrinsic. do the homework instead of doing it
and making a bad grade. While
At home, they likely had someone they these types of actions are the brain’s
could tell about their day and what they way of protecting self-esteem, we
learned. Someone who would celebrate hope you can see just how corrosive
their new knowledge with them. it can be to developing self-concept.
That magic combination of curiosity and In high school, this can be seen when
positive reinforcement when sharing a student doesn’t take a class because
their new knowledge fueled their “it’s not for them” or “for their type.”
intrinsic motivation. In trade school or college, it can be
avoiding entire career paths. Students
As children age, it’s not enough for are self-selecting out of subjects instead
them to have and share their knowledge. of accepting that learning can be a
Traditional grading systems want to challenging risk worth taking.
measure, judge, rank, and sort students
by how much they know. Or rather, how They’re closing doors on themselves.
well they can show how much they know.
We need to reignite the passion
Learning motivation switches to an for learning and change the tone
extrinsic reward system, such as grades about making mistakes,
and gold stars. But these accolades
struggling from the outset, and
decrease the inherent instinct of
learning for the fun of learning. improving with time and effort.
Suddenly, it’s a competition. It’s not
enough for students to learn and be
excited. Now, they have to atttain
points and be compared against
their classmates.
Think about that. If, for whatever
reason, you find yourself behind
your classmates, how does that
make you feel? How does it start
to make you think about yourself?
The human brain is very protective
of self-esteem. It may become “cool”
to downplay the importance of
grades or even the significance of
trying. It may be safer to make funWhat if this helps explain gaps and
unhappiness as students mature?
Educators and researchers have Contemporary research says yes.
been looking for the factors that Students with fewer resources at
account for differences in student home face greater challenges than
interest and motivation toward students with access to a laptop,
learning for over a century. On the tablet, smartphone, desk, and guardian
surface, the data points to with enough time to ask about their day.
differences in affluence and
poverty, language barriers, cultural Disadvantaged students understand
differences – all of which are shown their circumstances at home are
to have detrimental impacts on different from their peers. Just as
learning. they have to make mental
accommodations for learning
The question is: does a differences, they also have to make
similar adjustments for their
centuries-old grading socio-economic differences.
process inadvertently turn
disadvantaged students For disadvantaged students, their
physiological, safety, and other basic
off to learning at faster needs come before learning.
rates than advantaged
students?Mistakes lead to learning, so we need
to treat errors as opportunities.
When you talk to students today, Homework is practice and provides
they mention being graded on feedback for the teacher. Schools
everything. Being on time, putting call homework a formative assessment
their name on the right side of the – a measure of how the learning
paper, homework, quizzes, tests, is coming along. In a sense, it’s
projects, how they move through teaching the teacher where to go next.
hallways – and that’s just from Do they need to review material or can
teachers. they move on?
With that in mind, having homework and
assignments turned in is critical. So, it
currently gets the extrinsic motivator –
a grade. If you do the work, you will be
rewarded with a good grade. Don’t do
the work? Suffer the consequence
of a bad grade.
That works for most students, but not
for those most at-risk. The ones that
need the most help. They could be two
bad homework grades away from
giving up.
Classmates, having learned that
they are being graded, ranked, and
Life is about making
sorted, also judge one another on mistakes, trying again, and
body type, hairstyle, clothes, having the resilience to
vacations, electronics, and hygiene.
keep moving forward.
As educators, we still need a way
to evaluate the success of our
instruction and student acquisition
of knowledge, so grades aren’t
going away. But, some processes
around grading and what we grade
can change.
Let’s look at homework and
assignments. First, consider that
learning new content is a process
that starts out challenging. Early in
the learning process, mistakes are
common and expected.When students give up.
We’ve shown how grades, especially We know the importance of trust and
those on the 0 to 100% scale, can understanding in our student-teacher
quickly put students behind with a relationships, and that we cannot
limited chance for recovery. expect our students to be global-ready
graduates without providing them with
Teachers offer and make exceptions the support and encouragement they
to avoid this now, but generally need to succeed.
speaking, students have to ask for
that help and then make the effort. If Students that give up may limit
the student doesn’t have a relationship themselves to low-earning jobs or
of trust with their teacher, they may not reliance on governmental assistance.
risk asking for help or to try again, or
even be interested in trying again. Our drive to change to motivational
grading practices is to help all students
Eagle County Schools has an 80% be successful after high school.
graduation rate. Another 9% will finish
if they get an extra year or two to
complete. That’s a fair number given
our high percentage of at-risk learners,
but still means 11% don’t graduate.
And, many of our at-risk students are
second language learners with
considerable overlap with poverty.
Neither situation is the student’s fault
or within their control, but both factors
make it more challenging for them to
focus on school and school work.
Eagle County School District’s
journey into teaching with equity in
mind and grading for equity is
aimed at being more aware and Our goal is to ensure
responsive to cultural differences
within our student body. The work
students don’t give up.
is driving us to deeply consider
practices and their impact on all of We believe it is imperative that we
our students. We’re learning about update our grading practices so that
creating atmospheres of inclusion, they encourage students to try. We
acceptance, and celebration of want students to continue to work
differences. We’ve learned how towards their future believing they can
routine practices – like grading succeed.
homework – can be neutral,
motivational, or demotivational.“I am my grade.”
The most concerning information For the student who struggles, the
coming from contemporary research on limiting and traumatic experience is
grading is how grades have permeated front-loaded. They may decide before
student self-concept and self-identity. high school that they’re just average –
Again, this is most concerning among a C student. In their minds, they may
the students who are disadvantaged as well adjust their dreams and
and may experience lower grades than expectations accordingly. They may
they can achieve due to hardships in rule out classes they would otherwise
their lives outside of school. enjoy.
As educators, we want all of
our students to believe in
themselves. We want them
to know they can do
anything through education
and skill acquisition. We
want them to be okay with
mistakes. When they are
faced with challenges, we
want them to have the
But, we must not overlook the
courage and confidence to
serious and negative impact this keep trying until they
can have for even the best student. succeed.
Imagine a student who cruises through Fundamentally, we don’t believe a
high school with all A’s and sees student is their grade. Research
themself as a smart, successful indicates that students value points
student that can learn anything. They more than knowledge. That’s
get into the college of their dreams, but worrisome and we need help to
then struggle in classes. This may be change this phenomenon.
the first adversity they face and it
strikes at their very core. The core of education centers
around the partnership between
We’ve spent a lot of time on the teachers, students, and families. To
idea of building resiliency because successfully change our grading
that’s what adulthood requires. The practices will require parent support.
ability to make mistakes, to fail, to We need you to understand why
struggle, but to continue working we’re changing practices.
with hope and optimism.Making grades motivational again:
our way forward.
Our goal is to transition away from the A, B, C, D, F and 0-100% scales. We’re looking at a scale of 0,
1, 2, 3, 4, where each is an equal 20% range. This 0-4 grading model encourages and motivates
students to remain engaged in the classroom and resembles the GPA scale used by colleges.
We’re also doing away with grading processes that vary by teacher. For instance, if two teachers
have the same categories of class work, but have variations in how much each category plays into
the overall grade, a student can score the same in each class but end up with different final grades.
For example, imagine a student averages 60% on homework, 95% on tests & projects, 70% on class
activities, and 60% for participation for classes with both Ms. Jones and Ms. López. But, because of
how the class work categories are weighted differently in each class, the student ends up with a 76%
in one class and a 91% in the other.
Ms. Jones Ms. López
Ms. Jones’ Isabel’s Isabel’s Ms. López’s Isabel’s Isabel’s
Category Category Weighted Category Category Weighted
Class Work Weight Score Contribution Class Work Weight Score Contribution
Homework 30% 60% .18 Homework 5% 60% .03
Test & Projects 40% 95% .38 Test & Projects 85% 95% .81
Class Activities 20% 70% .14 Class Activities 5% 70% .4
Participation 10% 60% .06 Participation 5% 60% .03
Total Weighted 76% Total Weighted 91%
Percentage Percentage
At some level, this undermines the credibility of grading in the minds of students. They see it as
variable and an inaccurate representation of their real knowledge, which can strain the relationship of
trust between student and teacher.
To have accurate measures of knowledge, and eliminate inconsistency, we must base grades on
summative assessments; evaluate student learning, knowledge, proficiency, or success at the end of
the instructional period. This can occur at any time during a unit, which could include using a body of
evidence to demonstrate proficiency of skills rather than one large task.
We will also separate grading for behavior from grading for knowledge to provide feedback to parents
on their child’s behavior and habits without impacting the student’s overall grade. Parents need to
know this information, but it should not impact the child’s grade.Restoring hope through redemption.
Redemption is a key part of being Now let’s look at how we can get back
human, and especially being an to learning as its own intrinsic
adult. It’s making good on a reward. We want students to have
mistake, a condition of continual the choice to stay engaged, to
learning and development. Following keep trying, to get better, to
our research, we need to give redeem a bad performance. That
students this opportunity. And, provides hope. Hope that fuels
reinforce it as an expectation. motivation.
Drawing on research from Joe Grades early in the year may be
Feldman’s “Grading for Equity,” lower – students are learning. Don’t
Eagle County School District leaders panic. Don’t pressure. Don’t punish.
are supporting teachers in Encourage – remind students
implementing a few priority practices. they’ll get there, to have fun, and to
Staff professional development will keep learning. Trust that the process
focus in part on revising our grading will work out without undue force.
practices over time. This involves Stay enthusiastic and positive. A
new policies on revisions, using famous TedTalk by a career educator
summative assessments for final talks about the time she graded a
grades, excluding grades for quiz and the student scored a two.
formative assessments from final The teacher put a smiley face on the
grades, and separating grades for paper. The student asked, “Mrs. Jones,
behavior and work habits so that isn’t a 2 a failing grade?” And she
final grades are focused squarely said, “Yes, it is.” The student asked,
on knowledge. “Why did you put a smiley face on
here?” Mrs. Jones said, “You got two
Let’s talk about revisions. right, and that’s a start. Keep
practicing and see how many you
get next time.” That student
Creating a universal revision policy
continued to learn and grow and
eliminates the possibility of students
become successful.
getting stuck with a series of bad
grades. Missing tests or forgotten
assignments, poorly executed Educators know great
homework, and failed quizzes can be things happen when we
redone to better reflect a student’s believe in children, when
true ability. It’s not open-ended,
but it is an opportunity to keep learning. we imbue them with hope.
Think about when your child was
learning to walk. How many tries
did you give them? As many as it
took, right? You have to keep
trying until you succeed.Restoring intrinsic excitement for learning.
Learning is the natural process of We want students to see learning as a
the brain. We are learning all the fun, mistake-filled joy ride. A roller
time, at every age, during every coaster of knowledge. But most
day, for our entire life. We never importantly, we don’t want our grading
tire of it just like we never tire of practices to limit their options or
stories. These are the native ways diminish how they see themselves.
in which our brains process the
world and locate ourselves in it. With your support at home, this is
a change that can happen over
We can tire of being taught. We time and help us address one of
can be bored by subjects we have our most important goals: student
little interest in. Different subjects motivation.
can be more or less exciting to
us. But, we’re always learning. Celebrate mistakes, encourage
the sharing of knowledge, and
Our goal is to rekindle the innate
refocus on the importance of
passion for learning that students
are born with. We want them to see loving to learn.
the attainment of knowledge as
something they do for themselves,
not for a teacher, a parent, or a grade.Moving forward together.
Because traditional grading is a centuries old practice and thus entrenched
in the educational experience, making changes can be challenging. Old
habits die hard. That’s why we’ve developed this document. We need parents
to understand why we want to change our practices so you can help reinforce
the change. We’ve provided the history, tangible examples, and a brief glimpse
of the latest research on how grading practices shape student identity and
engagement. Now, let’s talk about our plans for next year.
Vision
Grading in Eagle County School District dignifies our students by telling them
exactly where they are academically and what they need to be successful. Our
practices promote the most aspirational thinking of what our students are capable
of as learners, regardless of their race, first language, family’s income, or their
previous educational experiences.
Core Beliefs
Traditional grading practices perpetuate our achievement and opportunity gaps
while objective grading practices promote accurate assessment of academic
mastery, transparent expectations, growth mindsets, a focus on learning instead
of points, and student agency – all key ingredients to serve diverse learners and
create culturally responsive classrooms.
Our Core Beliefs
1. Equitable grading and assessment 3. Grades communicate students’
practices strengthen student-teacher academic proficiency at the end of the
relationships through building trust and learning period and do not penalize
shared understanding. Under these students for making mistakes while they
conditions, all students know are still in the learning period.
where they are academically and Gradebooks hold important and valid
what they need to be successful. information for students, families, and
teachers.
2. Students are active collaborators
in their own learning, partnering 4. By fostering a culture of revision,
with teachers to ensure their grades inspire a growth mindset,
understanding of the learning where achievement is not fixed,
standards in a way that is but rather a process of learning.
transparent and responsive.School year 2021-2022 focus: Equitable Grading Priority Practices 1. Grades Based on Summative Assessments – Grades accurately reflect proficiency of knowledge, understanding, and skills (standards) as measured by summative assessments. Formative assessment of academic skills will be recorded in the gradebook to monitor progress, but will not be included in the final score of the course. 2. A Culture of Revision – All students can succeed in achieving proficiency of the content. Building a culture of revision in our schools challenges students to continue their learning until they meet or exceed proficiency.
Grading in Eagle County
School District dignifies
our students by telling
them exactly where they
are academically and what
they need to be successful.
Our practices promote the
most aspirational thinking
of what our students are
capable of as learners,
regardless of their race,
first language, family’s
income, or their previous
educational experiences.
EAGLE COUNTY
SCHOOL DISTRICT
Works Cited:
Feldman, Joe. Grading for Equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform classrooms. Corwin, 2019.You can also read
